The Review; Can't recommend the book!

During the summer and fall of 2011 I made all 50 recipes in the book "A Man, A Can, A Grill" and blogged about it -  It was kind of a man-version of the "Julie and Julia" blog (and movie) where Julie Powell, a fan of Julia Child, made every recipe in her "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook. I just ripped off the idea, but gave full credit where credit is due.
Of the 50 recipes there were five my wife and I actually LIKED. (1) Big Ball of Shrimp Scampi, (2) Pocketful of Spam (except it would be better with HAM!) (3) Spam Goes Hawaiian (basically Spam Kabobs - make it with HAM!), (4) Buffalo Chicken Pizza (except make it with Boboli bread or some other prepared pizza dough. The pizzas in this book end up looking like autopsies!) and (5) Jah Mon Jerk Pork Chops. The rest left us with questions:

1) What should we eat WITH IT (the book gives little advice about side dishes, and when it does they were not much to OUR liking).
2) Why so much BEER marinade?
3) Must EVERYTHING be marinaded? Why not some basic rubs or why does he not recommend smoking anything?
4) I get that the title says "A Man. a CAN etc." but why use SPAM in a can when ham tastes and grills so much better?
5) Why do so many of the recipes mix tomatoes and fruit?

Toward the end of the adventure, I found myself checking OTHER books. If for example, the recipe was to be Chicken Breasts and Cherries, (YUK!!!) I'd look in the Weber Big Book of Grilling to see what THAT said about chicken and fruit. Often when I did this cross-check the second recipe was vastly better, so I would go with that. Of course, that's not how it was done in Julia and Julia I'm afraid! She followed every recipe to the letter.
The book "A Man A Can A Grill" has some pretty good sandwiches but here again there were problems. In many cases the marinade, which is also used for basting the meat during grilling, is so sloppy it's hard to eat and also it tends to douse the coals so they don't burn right. Also true of meat entrees such as the Red Hot Ribs. I couldn't baste them because the sloppy marinade kept dousing the coals. Consequently, they weren't really red hot!
The recipe for a basic hamburger is another sloppy, hard to eat mess. Here, I recommend adding a binder of some kind: bread crumbs, grinded-up chips or grinded-up soda crackers, but of course anything you add affects not only the texture but also the flavor. My other grilling books all have better recipes for the basic hamburger.
Pork chops on the grill are great, and there are wonderful marinades that can really enhance the flavor and keep them tender. I can't say I'm that fond of ANY of the marinades in this book, including those recommended for tenderloin.
And finally, the recipe for beer can chicken isn't nearly as good as many others I have.
In short, though it has a small number of interesting recipes, I can't recommend this grilling cookbook. In every case if you want to make something on your grill - chicken, burgers, pork chops, fish - I would recommend a DIFFERENT grilling cookbook! Every book I own has a MUCH BETTER version of very recipe in "A Man, A Can, A Grill." For any beginning or advanced griller, I'd recommend spending the extra few bucks and buying the WEBER BIG BOOK OF GRILLING. No, I don't work for Weber. For more info, see my blog www.mancangrill.blogspot.com.

Recipe #50: THE LAST! Thanksgiving Sandwich!

Left to Right, Rob Larson,Jessica Evelo, Sarah Larson, Leah Matz, Sandy Gruenstein.

We saved "Thanksgiving Sandwich" for last.  The Book, "A Man, A Can, A Grill" specifically says that this recipe can be made with leftovers from Thanksgiving, so that's what we did.  
First, then, what did we make for Thanksgiving, 2011?

Grilled Turkey.  3 hours indirect grilling.

Homemade biscuits!

Grilled corn on the cob.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie. From Jim's Apple Barn, Belle Plaine, MN

1. Grilled Turkey: Pretty simple.  Spray with PAM, sprinkle with salt and pepper -- I like to add Mrs. Dash.  Set up the grill for medium heat indirect cooking.  A 15 pound turkey takes about 3 to 3-1/2 hours so you need to add coals every hour or so.  Grill it to an internal temp of 155-160.  Let it sit on the counter under tinfoil for 10 minutes to reabsorb the juices and continue cooking internally.
2. Homemade biscuits.
3. Grilled corn on the cob.  Coat it with seasoned butter and wrap it in tinfoil. Grill about 30 minutes turning once halfway through. I PREFER to grill corn in the husks but it is impossible to find it fresh enough in November.
4. Dressing, Mashed taters and turkey gravy.  We did these the easy way.
5. HOMEMADE Pumpkin pie. We bought it frozen and unbaked early in the Fall at Jim's Apple Barn on Hiway 169 near Belle Plaine, MN.

OKAY, So the Thanksgiving Sandwich is basically just a Hot Turkey Combination:  We had, Turkey on sourdough bread, mashed potatoes, and dressing, with gravy over it all.
I denuded the turkey carcass on Thanksgiving night, and the next day reheated the chucked up turkey meat on the grill while giving it a good smoking with applewood!.  It was YUMMY.

Tomorrow, I will post the REVIEW I WROTE FOR AMAZON.COM for "A Man A Can, A Grill." 

The next day-- Recipe #50: Thanksgiving Sandwich!

Recipe # 49: Three Lemon chicken

My dear wife and I waited until the very last to make "Chicken and Cherries".  The actual recipe calls for chicken breasts in a marinade made from a bottle of cherry sodapop and a can of bing cherries lemon juice, salt and pepper.  We thought that was too disgusting to imagine, let alone EAT.  So instead, I found a recipe in Weber's Big Book of Grilling which featured chicken breasts and fruit: Three-Lemon Chicken!

You make a paste with minced garlic and the garlic juice, the zest from 2 lemons and the juice from one.  Then  you add some rosemary, salt and pepper and coat the chicken breast with it.  During the last 5 minutes you place slices of lemon on the breasts and let the juice sink in.  It was GREAT!  We had it with potato salad and cole slaw, because as always we had to come up with our own sides.

NEXT IS LAST!  Actually it's not a recipe at all.  Recipe #50 is made with leftovers from Thanksgiving.  It's a hot turkey combination, or as the BOOK calls it, Thanksgiving Sandwich.

Recipe #48: Salmon with Asparagus Penne

Actually the recipe was called "Acapulco Salmon" I suppose because the author thought it was cute --  they don't have salmon in Acapulco; not traditionally anyway.  But there was nothing Acapulco about it.  It was just basic grilled salmon with a"side" of canned mangoes mixed with canned diced tomatoes.  We're a little sick of fruit mixed with diced tomatoes, so we grilled the salmon the way it was described and created a different side:  Penne Alfredo with grilled asparagus.

Salmon is amazing on the grill!  The skin is impossible to remove.  BUT - - - You just spray it on both sides with Pam Olive Oil, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, then put it on the grill meat side down, skin side up.  Seven minutes, then turn it.  Two or three more minutes on the skin side and the skin slides right off!  We grilled the asparagus at the same time.  Penne was boiling indoors.  We just cut the asparagus in 1 inch chunks and tossed it in the alfredo.  GREAT LUNCH, no thanks to David Joachim (The Author of "A Man, A Can A Grill.")

Two more recipes left.  Thanksgiving Sandwich, we make with Thanksgiving leftovers, so the last one to be made from scratch is "Chicken and Cherries."  We've been putting it off until the end because it sounds gross.  So we hunted up a more appetizing chicken + fruit recipe "THREE CITRUS CHICKEN!"  Next time!

Recipe #47: Pina Colada Pork Luau

As you know by now I am doing a man-version of  "Julie and Julia" with the cookbook "A Man, A Can and a Grill" by David Joachim.  One of my real frustrations with the book is that he gives a recipe ONLY for the entree and rarely gives any idea what to serve with it.  As we near the end of the book, I decided to take the reigns on that issue.  We prepared the recipe for Pina Colada Pork as published on page 30 of the book:
     A two-pound pork roast marinaded overnight in pineapple juice, pina colada mix, lime juice and dark rum.  Grilled 75 minutes on indirect.  It was GOOD!  A subtle "coconut-ty" flavor.  But that would be kind of unbalanced by itself.
     So we decided to make a kind of LUAU out of it.  As long as the PORK is so Hawaiian, why not have a Hawaiian salad, side and desert?

We made a salad from spinach, strawberries, almonds and poppy seed dressing.

We made rice by first grilling ham and pineapple slices, the dicing them and adding them to rice made in chicken broth instead of water.

To top it all off, a pie, made from a 12 oz can of strawberry daquiri mix, two cans of Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk, two small tubs of Cool Whip blended and piled into graham cracker shells and frozen

Maybe I should write a grilling book that includes the salads, sides and desserts.

Next time:  Acapulco Salmon or Chicken 'n' Cherries

Recipe 46: Griiled Fish and Fruit Salsa

You're supposed to get red snapper, grill it naked (unbreaded) and serve it with diced pineapple, jalapenos, lime juice and lemon pepper.

We didn't want to search for red snapper or have jalapenos in our fruit salsa, so we diced:

pineapple, red and green peppers, fresh tomatoes, and added garlic and lemon pepper.  We breaded tilapia and grilled it to a flakey perfection --  then ate it with jasmine rice and grilled asparagus.

NEXT TIME:  Pina Colada Pork Luau

Recipe 45: Tuna Italiana

I learned a lot with this one.  I learned I don't like tuna steak!

At least there was no beer in this marinade!  Dijon mustard, olive oil, red pepper flakes and garlic.  You grill the tuna steaks on a hot grill for 4-5 minutes per side, just so it is beige on the outside and still red on the inside.  You also mix a can of diced tomatoes with a can of white beans (drained and rinsed).  We heated that and served it over pasta with pesto.  I found it all pretty dull, even with the red pepper on the tuna steaks.  Another book I have suggests slicing the tuna steaks sideways so they are 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  I suggest that. These were about 1 1/2 inch thick and that made them hard to grill.  I might try them again, sliced thinner and marinaded with something else.

Next time:  Fish again!  Grilled with tomato and pineapple salsa! FIVE MORE RECIPES TO GO!!!!

Recipe #44: Drunken Pig

Big surprise:  BEER Marinade.  It's a pork roast, marinaded in beer, hence the name:  Drunken Pig.  Actually it isn't bad.  You mix beer, garlic, chopped onion, chopped green bell pepper and several seasonings.  Marinade then baste with the marinade while grilling (1 1/2 hours indirect).  The bad part was that you add a can of sliced new potatoes to the beer/onion/pepper and cook it all together as a side dish.  The pork roast was GREAT but warm flat beer doesn't do a lot for potatoes.  My bride agrees.

_______

We are down to SIX recipes from the original 50.  When  we are finished, ending with "RECIPE 50: THANKSGIVING SANDWICH" the day after Turkey Day 2011, I am writing a review of this book on Amazon.com.  It's not a new book and I might be late to the party, but I am sure I am the only reviewer who made all 50 recipes, so no one has a better claim to review the book than I do!  I will post that review here as well.

Next Time:  Tuna Steaks Italiano

Recipe #43: Pizza Vegetariana

As usual --  Pillsbury pizza dough, rolled out into eight inch circles.  Spray PAM on a piece of tinfoil and place the pizza dough circle on it.  Spray the top with PAM.  Put it face down on the grill and peel the tinfoil off.  Grill one minute then take it off, turn it over and put toppings on the grilled side:

1) Spread pesto on the crust.
2) Spread diced tomatoes on the crust
3) Spread artichokes  and diced green peppers
4) Spread mozzarella
5)  We ALSO added mushrooms and diced onions just cuz we like them.
I have to say though, I don't much care for the panic associated with dressing a pizza crust outside beside the grill.  Like I said before I'm not afraid to alter the recipe if I think it needs it.  I've made several pizzas his way and they look like autopsies.  So this time I just made ONE pizza with Boboli bread.  I did the rest according to the recipe though.  Not bad.  My wife loved it.  I kept wondering, "Where's the meat!??!?!?!"

Next Time:  Drunken Pig!

Recipe #42: Ring Sausage with Polenta Pucks

The new discovery was polenta -- a Northern Italian answer to Pasta.  It looks like a 1 lb tube of hamburger only it's corn yellow and is actually MADE from corn.  It works pretty well for anything pasta works for.  In this case, chopped onion, chopped green pepper, mushroom and diced tomato, sauted.  Chill and cut a tube of polenta into 10 1/2" pucks.  Grill them like a hamburger patty along with a ring of sausage --  we used a ring of Hungarian Kielbasa my Bro-in-law gave us.  GOOD STUFF!  Anyway, you cut up the sausage and toss it with the veggies until it's all nice and warm, then serve it over the polenta pucks.  Not bad, but it would be better to take the veggies and sausage and mix them in with marinara and pour THAT over the polenta.  Actually I understand polenta is best with lots of sauce, and the veggies in this recipe are pretty sauce-less.

Next Time:  Grilled Veggie Pizza

Recipe #41: Herbalicious Tenderloin

Sigh!  Same crap, different meat!  Take a tenderloin, marinade it in chicken broth, frozen orange juice concentrate (thawed, not diluted), Rosemary and garlic.  Then grill it.  It's not bad, don't get me wrong.  pretty tasty actually but I am getting good a tired of sloppy marinades and no smoking -- ever.  Tenderloin is GREAT just grilled and smoked with Hickory or Mesquite.  At least the marinade didn't have BEER this time.
Next Time:  Ring sausage with Polenta Pucks!

Recipe #40: Dr Pepper Glazed Ham

I made this while my homey was out of town because she doesn't like ham.

Canned ham, grilled and glazed with:  Dr Pepper + veggie oil + garlic + Tabasco boiled down to thicken it and then glaze the ham during the last 15 minutes of grilling.  I served it with red beans and rice.  Pretty good, but a lot of trouble to go to just for glazed ham.

TEN recipes left.  We want to finish up on November 26 with Recipe #50, "Thanksgiving Sandwich" which is basically a hot turkey combination made with left-overs from Thanksgiving!

Next time:  PROBABLY Herbalicious Tenderloin.

Recipe #39: Luca Brasi Pizza

EEEEWWWWW!!!!

Looks like an autopsy!!!

You roll out Pillbury Pizza dough into two 8" circles on tinfoil squares sprayed with PAM.  Put face down on a hot grill and peel the tinfoil off.  Grill one side for 2-3 minutes, just so it doesn't fall apart.  Remove from the grill and flip it onto a plate, so the cooked side is up.  Layer (1) caponata (an tomato, eggplant and caper antipasto), (2) chunks of tuna (hence the name:  "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.") and (3) Mozzarella.  Grill it for 5 or 7 minutes, just until the cheese melts.  I thought it was gross.  My sweetie liked it.  That happens a lot, I guess, where she likes a recipe I don't.  Oh well.
Next time:  I'm thinking Dr Pepper Glazed Ham, because my sweetie is leaving for the weekend and doesn't really like ham.

Recipe #38: Acapulco Chicken + Grilled Jamabalya

 Simple:  you marinade the chicken in tomato sauce and chili powder then grill it.  While it is grilling you mix the fruit salsa:   can of pineapple, can of diced tomatoes and a can of mandarin oranges.  We added jasmine rice to round out the meal.  Not a big deal but it was okay flavor-wise.  Nothing to write home (or a blog) about.

However, the next day we made JAMBALYA. NOT IN THE BOOK! I was at the farmer's market and they had nice farm-fresh tomatoes onions and  green peppers and we had some excellent sausage in the freezer we wanted to use.  Here's how.  Grill the sausage (I smoked it over apple wood!).  Also grill the tomatoes, onions and green peppers.  Go to the stove -- Chop the onion and green pepper and cook in hot oil.  Add rice and the chunked up sausage.  When it is all well-coated with oil, puree the tomatoes and add them to the pot along with a cup of chicken broth.  A bit of hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the rice is tender.  EAT.  GOSH it was great.  I've made JAMBALAYA before but never grilled the meat and veggies.

Special: Chili on the Grill

Nothin' better for a crisp autumn day!  Spray with PAM 4 large tomatoes, 3 stalks of celery and a jalapeno then grill about 8-10 minutes, so the skin falls off the tomatoes.  Make 3 pounds of hamburger (or other meat of choice) into patties and rub with Chipotle Seasoning or a meat seasoning of your preference.  Grill the meat to medium doneness and remove it from the grill.

Put the tomatoes in the blender and puree.  Pour into a pasta pot and put it on the stove.  Chop the celery and jalapenos into chunks and throw them into the pot.  Cut the meat into cubes and toss THOSE into the pot.  Pour in a bottle of ale. Simmer for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.  During the last 20 minutes pour in three cans of pinto beans WITHOUT the juice, a tablespoon of chili pepper and then add salt and pepper to taste.  IT'S AMAZING!  The smoky flavor from the grill is shared among the veggies and meat and sauce and it all mixes together in a fine collaboration.  It is just the BEST.  I like to eat in the fall with cornbread.  My honey loves it.

adapted from:  http://www.weber.com/grillout/recipes/beef/chili-on-the-grill


Next time:  Acapulco Chicken

Recipe #37: Oktoberfest Pigout

Pork Tenderloin in a marinade of apple cider and bourbon. Grilled over hot coals until it reaches 155 degrees inside.  Sliced and served with Sweet Kraut cooked with finely diced apples and white wine.  We had it all with potato salad and sliced beets.  What's more German than that!  Happy October!!!

Next time:  Something Special --  Not in the book!

Recipe #36: Fish Tacos

Simple recipe.  Just mix 1-1/2 cup of chunky salsa with a small can of sliced black olives and an 11 oz can of Mexican corn. 
Spray the fish fillets (we used tilapia) with PAM and put it directly over HIGH HEAT (If you're a real man, that means charcoal).  3 minutes to a side and then take them off and make the fillets into chunks.

While chunking the fillets, nuke the salsa for two minutes just to warm it.

THEN put some fish, some salsa some cheese and some lettuce on a softshell tortilla.  Roll it and eat it.  My wife (my regular focus group) LOVED them.  Me, not so much.  I always thought fish tacos were kind of a gross idea, anyway. 
The next time I grill will be OCTOBER  1!  So we are planning the next recipe will be OKTOBERFEST PIGOUT!

Recipe #35: Big Bird in Bourbon Sauce

YUUUMMM!!
The bar-b-que sauce came from another source, because the recipe sounded better.  It's AMAZING --  way better than Famous Dave's:
__________________________________________
Saute chopped onion and garlic (butter or olive oil)
After about 4 minutes add:

• 2 cups of ketchup
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1cup molasses
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)
• a tablespoon black pepper.

simmer for about 20 minutes.  Stir in 2 ozs of bourbon (one of those small bottles).
____________________________________________________________________

Let it simmer.
We grilled the bird over hot coals and applewood.  Then brushed bar-b-que sauce on for the last 5 minutes.  Then we cut it up put on a slice of toast and poured Bar-b-que sauce on it like Famous Dave's.  SCRUMPTIOUS.

Next Time:  Dr Pepper Glazed Ham!

Recipe #34: Grilled fish and chips.

Great recipe!!!  Today I'm giving step by step grilling instructions, so sit down and pay attention!

First off, Real Men Don't Use Propane!


Fire up the CHARCOAL grill.  I use a starter chimney because even though you might be a real man and use charcoal, starter fluid (ICK!) stinks and makes the food taste like gasoline.  Starter chimney --  coals inside and newspaper underneath --  that's all it takes.

Soak the fillets in evaporated milk for about an hour.  Takes away that fishy taste!

A 12 ounce can of Carnation evaporated milk.  You just put the fish in a bowl and let it soak for an hour.  Meanwhile, you grind up a can of sour cream and onion Pringles into dust and add some lemon pepper, paprika  and cayenne pepper.

Roll the fillets in the seasons Pringle crumbs.

AND GRILL!  Gently because tilapia is a thin fillet and it can burn easily.  Just 4 minutes to a side.  Notice I have the fillets off to the edge away from direct heat.

Be careful removing them from the grill --  they are a little fragile when they are done to perfection!

All that's left to do is eat it!  We had ours with tartar sauce and a lovely corn chowder made with the grilled corn left from Recipe #33!


A FABULOUS MEAL!!!!!!






NEXT TIME:  Big Bird with Bourbon Sauce!

Recipe #33: Holy Mole Pollo

Holy (MO-lay po-yo)  I've never tried mole before -- it's a Mexican sauce base you can get at the international aisle of your supermarket.  You just mix 1 part mole with 3 parts broth and bring it to boil.  Thin, to make the sauce for this recipe, I added a can of cilantro diced tomatoes and some minced garlic.  IT'S GOOD.  It makes a great sauce for the grilled chicken breast!  We had it with farm-fresh-grilled-in-the-husk-corn-on-the-cob!

Tomorrow:  Fish and Chips!

Recipe #32: Bock Bock Kabobs

My wife responded after her first bite --  "Yeah! Interesting!"

Just cherry tomatoes, chunks o' chicken, chunks o' green pepper, chunks o' artichoke and chunks o' new potatoes on skewers.  While they grill you baste them with creamy italian and some Mrs. Dash for Chicken.
GOOD!  But I don't know why they are called Bock Bock Kabobs!

Tomorrow:  Holy Mole Pollo (Chicken breast basted with Mexican mole!)

Recipe # 31: Bean-Chicken Quesadillas

The cookbook calls them Wedgies -- cuz yer spozed ta cut the grilled quesadillas into 6 triangles and eat them with your hands.  But we ate them with a knife and fork and used salsa as a dipping sauce.

Nothing to it!  Small can of sliced olives, small can of flaked chicken breast, small can of sliced jalapenos (pronounced "hala PAY nyos" --  not "hala PEE nose") AND a can of fat free refried beans.  You mix all that up in a bowl, then spread it onto a tortilla.  Cover with shredded cheese and put another tortilla on top.  Grill for 2 minutes per side.
NOTE:  It is far easier to put the chicken and bean stuff on one HALF of a tortilla, put cheese on the bean stuff and fold it over.  Spray PAM on both sides of your pre-heated George Foreman and grill it for 2-3 minutes.  Neater, and you don't waste a grill full of charcoal on something that takes 2 minutes to cook!

Next time: Bock Bock Kabobs

Recipe #30: Red Hot Ribs

A lot of different things on the grill that day!

Labor Day weekend.  I had my family to serve as my focus group for this recipe which I never ever made before.
Boneless beef rib, marinaded (of course!)  in beer (OF COURSE!), crushed jalapenos, tabasco sauce, a little worchestershire sauce and MANWICH.  Marinaded a few hours then toss them on a hot grill.  You're supposed to turn and baste with marinade several times, but the marinade drips on the coals and they don't burn right!  So I dispensed with the basting, and the ribs did dry out just a bit.

BEST right off the grill.   

 

Hiatus for a bit:  Tired of beer marinades!!!

Recipe #29 - Jah Mon Jerk Pork Chops!

Pretty Good!  Though we are getting a little tired of marinaded meat.  Sometimes I like to smoke it!  Anywhooooo:
Pork chops, marinaded in black beans (drained), pineapple juice, hot sauce, cider vinegar and chopped up red bell pepper. I let them marinade over night.  Then seasoned with carribean seasoning and thrown on a hot charcoal grill.  About 5-6 minutes per side.  Meanwhile, the black bean and red pepper marinade is boiled down and the crushed pineapple (where I got the juice from) is stirred in.  Served over rice.

My sweetie declared it "GOOD, but a really interesting mix of vegetables."  YEAH blackbeans, red bell pepper and pineapple keeps the palate interested and the pork chops were SO tender and flavorful!!!

Next time:  ON THE ROAD AGAIN. Red Hot Ribs with the extended fam in St Paul!

Recipe #28 Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches

     My daughter came home to visit before beginning her sophomore year in college.  She's vegan so I made one of the 4 vegan recipes in the cookbook "A Man a Can a Grill" -- Portobello mushroom sandwiches, which HE calls "Fungus Among Us Burgers"  --  but that's not really funny.  It's stupid.

     Portobello mushroom caps --  you bust off the stem and scoop out the black gills.  Marinaded in beer and italian dressing.  Grilled 5 minutes per side then dressed up like any other burger.  My daughter loved them.  MY mouth kept saying "Where's the beef!?!"

Next time:  Jah Mon Jerk Pork Chops!

Recipe #27: Birds in Beer

     Actually it's called KIELBASA in Beer, and calls for turkey kielbasa cut in bun-sized pieces.  But the recipe said we could substitute turkey brats so we did!  Easier.

     As it often does the cookbook says to cut up an onion and a green pepper.  You put the veggies, a can of sauerkraut and two cans of beer in a big foil pan.  First you grill the brats a couple of minutes per side to brown them, then boil them in the foil pan for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Toast your bun, and put some peppers, onion and sauerkraut on it.  Then a brat. 
Now I'm no fan of sauerkraut but this was awful good.  Sloppy, but good!  Giving it 4 and 1/2 sloppy stars out five.
Next time:  Drunken Pig

Recipe #26: Foghorn Leghorn Fajitas

Foghorn Leghorn, for those of you too young to remember, was a wise-cracking cartoon rooster with a deep southern accent by the people who drew Bugs Bunny (Warner Bros!) 
Chicken breast marinaded in beer and hot enchilada sauce.  Grilled then cut in chunks.  Strips of onion and green pepper (See "Beer Flamed Fajitas"elsewhere in this blog) also grilled and seasoned.  This time though we made Mexican rice.  Put some rice, some meat, some veggies, some cheese and some salsa all in a large flour tortilla.  Roll it up and eat.  I love them!  My sweetie finally said, "I don't like fajitas."  Fortunately we are done with fajitas, so she doesn't have to be polite anymore!. 

Next time -- don't know when -- we endeavor to make Brats in Beer.

Recipe #25: Nutty Bovine on the Barbie

Steak, sliced to 4 or 5 inch strips of 1/4" thickness, marinaded in beer, teriyaki, and sesame oil.  Skewered then grilled; basted with the marinade.  The recipe calls for a dipping sauce made from broth, peanut butter (hence the name) and sesame oil.  We made the dipping sauce (see photo) but enjoyed the beef strips over stir-fried veggies and didn't choose to dip in the peanut sauce. 
     RED LETTER DAY!!! We are HALF DONE with the 50 recipes!  AND we are done with the BEEF recipes.  So far we've finished with SPAM and BEEF and are deep into chicken and pizza recipes.  Pork is still pretty wide open.
NEXT RECIPE will be Foghorn Leghorn Fajitas.  Not sure when though!!

Recipe #24: Bangkok Birdie

The best recipe so far!!!  Very tasty and unique!!
Chicken breast marinaded in coconut milk, lime juice (put de lime in de coconut!) and teriyaki with a healthy dose of red curry powder.  Grilled to a golden doneness and served up with rice. 

I reduced the marinade into a spicy curry sauce on the stove and poured it over the chicken and the rice!! 
FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS!!! YUMMY!!!

Next time, Nutty Bovine (not sure when we'll get to it though).

Recipe #23: Beer Flamed Fajitas

Marinaded steak in beer, worchestershire and jalapenos.  Cut up onions and green peppers and grilled it all, basting with the marinade until done.  Cut in strips and served on large tortillas.

The recipe did NOT call for rice but I think the whole meal would have been better and more complete with rice in the fajitas.  Still, it was pretty darned good.  4 out of 5 stars.

Tomorrow:  Spicy Bangkok Birdie!!

NO RECIPE TODAY: TOO WINDY TO GRILL

I actually STARTED to grill but the wind fanned the flames and the result was that the pizza burned on the botton and the cheese didn't even melt on top.  So we will put LUCA BRAZZI PIZZA on hold until later --  much later.

Recipe #22: Bad-ass BBQ Chicken

Not as spicy as the name would imply.  Marinaded chicken parts in Manwich, jalapenos, beer, spicy mustard and tabasco.  Grilled 15 minutes per side while basting with the marinade. Basically, though it's a spicy barbeque sauce and any good griller knows you don't brush the sauce on until the last 10 or 15 minutes because the sugar in the sauce burns.  Which is exactly what happened.  So if I made it again, I'd be sure to brush the extra marinade OFF before grilling, and then brush it ON about 15 minutes before removing the meat from the grill.
It was pretty good anyway.  We ate it with a garden salad made with romain, tomato and cucumber as a starter and some potato salad as a side.

TOMORROW:  Luca Brazzi Pizza!